Woman Bashes Asian Victim’s Head With a HAMMER After Demanding to Remove Mask in NYC

Carl Samson
·3 min read
1

Authorities in New York City are looking for a woman who allegedly attacked two Asian pedestrians with a hammer over the weekend.

The incident, which was caught on surveillance video, occurred on the 410 block of West 42nd Street at around 8:40 p.m. on Sunday.




Two women, aged 29 and 31, were headed for the subway when they came across the suspect, who said to them, "Take off your f***ing masks."

"She was talking to herself, like talking to a wall, I thought maybe she was drunk or something so we just wanted to pass through her quickly," Theresa, 31, told ABC7 New York reporter CeFaan Kim.

The video shows the woman attacking Theresa and her friend with what the police said was a hammer, striking Theresa on the head. The suspect then fled eastbound on 42nd street, according to police.

Theresa is reportedly in stable condition after being rushed to a hospital. She suffered a gash on the left side of her forehead that required seven stitches.




Theresa moved from Taiwan to New York in 2019 for a master's program at the Fashion Institute of Technology (FIT). The recent graduate now plans to return to Taiwan.

"My mom actually told me please be careful, there's a lot of Asian crime happening in America," she said.

She added that she'd possibly move back to New York for a job opportunity when the city is safer.

Police recovered the hammer at the scene. The suspect, who stands around 5-foot-9 and wore all black, remains on the loose.

The incident is under investigation as a possible hate crime.

In a statement on Tuesday, a "disgusted" Gov. Andrew Cuomo described the attack as "the latest seemingly senseless and despicable hate crime against Asian Americans in this state," according to NBC New York.

Last week an Indian man was attacked with a hammer in Brooklyn, prompting a response from South Asian and Sikh communities in a rally over the weekend, wanting authorities to investigate the incident as a hate crime.

Anyone with information is urged to call the New York Police Department's Crime Stoppers Hotline at 1-800-577-TIPS.

Featured Image via New York Police Department

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